Category Archives: Philippines

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~ in Bedford, England – Winifred Mary Hull (later Fowler) , youngest of 12 children (ten surviving to adulthood) of Edwin, a gravel merchant, and Eliza, a barmaid. She (Winifred) was appointed Bedford’s first Lady Mayor in 1971, opening her period in office with the comment: ”I’m not a member of women’s lib but I do believe women are equal”. [bedford.gov.uk]

~ inThe Municipality of Tiaong in the Province of Quezon in the Philippines – Sixto Mercado Tiongco, Filipino-Chinese communist party member who joined the communist party and, under the name Ye Fei, became a military general and politician in the Peoples Republic of China.

Arms Race: in the British Parliament, the First Lord of the Admiralty (SIr Winston Churchill) is answering questions requiring him to confirm that merchant vessels being armed with guns are solely under the control of masters and officers who are British subjects. He duly confirms that: “the interests of the State are safeguarded by the fact that all captains and officers of the ships so armed are British subjects worthy of the confidence of the Admiralty.”

Defying definition: The author Franz Kafka records in his diary: “I never wish to be easily defined. I’d rather float over other people’s minds as something strictly fluid and non-perceivable; more like a transparent, paradoxically iridescent creature rather than an actual person.” Behold: the kafkaesque age is upon us.

BORN TODAY: ~ In Manila, Philippines, the shrine for the annual remembrance of the martyrdom of Dr. Jose P. Rizal, who was judicially executed by the Spanish authorities for rebellion, sedition and forming an illegal association on this day in 1896.

World Affairs: The Sydney Morning Herald reports on the worst famine in Japan’s provinces of Aomoji and Hokkaido for over 40 years. “Runs on the local banks continue…many thousands of people are starving, and parents are selling their daughters, numbers of whom are arriving daily in Tokyo for the Yoshiwara [red light district] or for shipment abroad.”

BORN TODAY: in Petropavlovsk in the Russian Empire (now Petropavl in Kazakhstan) – Vladimir Tretchikoff, the man who brought us the painting “Chinese Girl” (aka “the Green Lady”) one of the best selling art prints of the twentieth century. With his family he fled to China in 1917 before moving to Singapore, and eventually to South Africa, but only after his passenger ship was bombed by the Japanese and he was taken captive by the Japanese for the remainder of the war.

Antipodean romance: George Adkin, New Zealand farmer and diarist waxes lyrical on a wonderful day with his beloved Maud, concluding his diary entry with: “a most enjoyable, successful + never-to-be forgotten day.” [Museum of New Zealand].

Globalisation: The Western Mail, in Perth, Western Australia, reports on recent efforts by the Philippines authorities to introduce the plant Carludovica palmata, so that the locals can compete in the global market for Panama Hats.

Extreme Cameraderie: In Denver.Colorado, as the local inhabitants dig themselves out of the recent blizzard, the Telluride Journal in San Miguel County runs the headline “Millionaires mingle with laborers to free Denver from clutches of storm”. Meanwhile the “Yampa Leader” in Yampa, Routt County, can only manage “Shovelers clear snow in Denver”

BORN TODAY: in New York City – Walter Benjamin Garland, Brooklyn college mathematics student, communist party and National Negro Congress activist, volunteer fighter with the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. US Army volunteer in World War 2 whose request to serve overseas was denied. Post war activist against discrimination and police brutality, co-founder of the United Negro Allied Veterans Association.

Transport and gallantry: In the village of Liss in Hampshire, England, Percy Norwood sustains serious head injuries while rescuing blacksmith Harry Rasell from the path of an oncoming train. Harry’s pony had bolted, crashing into the crossing gates and throwing him onto the rails ahead of the train.

Thanksgiving: In the US State of New Mexico, Governor William C McDonald proclaims this Thursday, the fourth Thursday in November, as a day of thanksgiving: “I urge upon all that this day be observed as one of prayer and praise to God for the many blessings enjoyed by our people. At the same time may we not forget the poor and needy, making the day what its name implies for all”.